Vedanta to tie up with 3 firms for semiconductor biz, first chip in 2.5 years: Anil Agarwal

livemint.com:

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal on Friday said that the company is in discussions with three firms to have separate tie-ups for foundry, chips and packaging and testing, for its semiconductor unit in India. In an exclusive conversation with Mint, Agarwal said that the tie-ups should happen in a few months.

Agarwal confirmed that the company aims to produce the first chips from its facility within the next two-and-a-half years. Vedanta's partnership with Foxconn can happen on the ecosystem side, according to Agarwal.

Vedanta had earlier been in talks with Taiwan's Foxconn to create a semiconductor joint venture for Indian markets. However, Foxconn had withdrawn from the deal valued at $19.5 billion shattering the company's chipmaking plans.

In a statement following the split, a Foxconn spokesperson said that the companies “mutually agreed to part ways", adding that the project “was not moving fast enough", and that “there were challenging gaps (the project was) not able to smoothly overcome, as well as external issues unrelated to the project." Speaking at the Semicon India conference earlier today, Agarwal said Vedanta had identified a “world class" partner for its semiconductor and display fabrication project in India and that the company is “in the process of tying up with them." A senior industry veteran said that Vedanta may look to make an official announcement “by the end of the year," while subsequent approvals and commencement of its future facility are still “a few" years away. Vedanta’s announcement comes amid multiple announcements from global chipmaking firms.